I think those tears are more gratitude for the good moments, or a joyful experience. I have cried in gratitude when something has made me happy or joyful.

Synonyms for happiness are: pleasure, contentment, satisfaction, cheerfulness, merriment, gaiety, joy, joviality, delight, good spirits, lightheartedness, well-being, enjoyment, exuberance, exhilaration, elation, ecstasy, rapture, blissfulness and euphoria.

According to Happify.com:

“The research suggests that happiness is a combination of how satisfied you are with your life (for example, finding meaning in your work) and how good you feel on a day-to-day basis. Both of these are relatively stable—that is, our life changes, and our mood fluctuates, but our general happiness is more genetically determined than anything else. The good news is, with consistent effort, this can be offset…you have the ability to control how you feel—and with consistent practice, you can form life-long habits for a more satisfying and fulfilling life.”

In my own opinion, I believe that happiness for each person is subjective. However, how you define being happy and what brings happiness are two different concepts.

Some may define happiness as being successful in their careers, or having all the money they need to afford all the things they want. Others may define happiness as being a parent, or taking care of others, or perhaps being able to just make it in life, with life’s main essentials.

I think given the synonyms listed above, it is evident that feelings of happiness indicate a state of being – a state of elation or a state of overall contentment.

So, happiness is more so a state of being... a state of being that can be cultivated, if worked upon deliberately, each and every day.

I run a blog on happiness, and in my own personal opinion, happiness is something we can deliberately choose on a daily basis by setting a certain positive mindset.... such as today is going to be a great day.. then going about deliberately making the day great by choosing positive thoughts over negative ones, by avoiding drama and negative people, and by letting the little things that bother us slide more, and by not letting the bigger issues ruin our state of happiness or state of contentment.

You are very human.. a lot of people struggle with being happy....